Young’s Motorsports’ Anthony Alfredo has been around the block a few times. Throughout his seven-year NASCAR career, he’s never been with the same team for consecutive seasons.
The closest was last year, when he returned to Our Motorsports for a second time after a one-year stopgap with BJ McLeod Motorsports in 2023. Alfredo put in some of his best work with the team in 2024, earning seven top-10 finishes and finishing 15th in the championship standings. The highlight was winning the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus at Dover Motor Speedway.
RELATED: Anthony Alfredo driver page
“I’ve driven a lot of different equipment, worked with a lot of people and that’s made me more well-rounded as far as my ability to adapt to different equipment, but also the communication, chemistry and building relationships with a lot of people,” Alfredo said of his ability to click with different teams. “I think something unique about it is I got to drive some competitive equipment early in my career, part time. Not many people have been on both sides of the fence.”
For the 2025 Xfinity Series season, Tyler Young, owner of Young’s Motorsports, was looking for an experienced driver to help develop his program. After running older chassis from the now-defunct Brandonbilt Motorsports last year with rookie driver Leland Honeyman Jr., the No. 42 team bought out the remaining Cup Series inventory from Chip Ganassi Racing and committed to leasing ECR engines for the full season.
Alfredo was a natural fit.
“It’s funny when someone like that calls you and says they want a guy with experience because I’m still only 26 years old,” Alfredo said. “Because I’ve driven for all these different teams and been in all these different environments, I’ve learned a lot for being a young driver. I think there’s a value there, and I appreciate him acknowledging that and giving me the opportunity.”
What swayed Alfredo to Young’s was the grit of the team that has fielded Craftsman Truck Series entries for more than a decade. He knew success might not be immediate, but playing the long game was important.
Through the opening 10 races, Alfredo has had a mixed bag of results. He has a trio of DNFs, getting caught up in crashes in the first two races of the season while experiencing engine woes at Martinsville Speedway. The No. 42 team is trending in the right direction with four top-20 finishes, plus consecutive 15th-place outings, in the last six races.
MORE: Talladega schedule | Xfinity Series schedule | Xfinity Series standings
“It’s a game changer,” Andrew Abbott, crew chief of the No. 42 Chevrolet, said about bringing in an experienced driver. “I worked with Jeremy Clements, who is the same way. They can get a lot more out of a car because they’ve done it for so long.
“We’ve had a lot of speed. We just haven’t had great luck.”
To be so close to triumph in the past and knowing the investment the No. 42 team made over the offseason, Alfredo won’t sugarcoat his goals. He intends to win a race and make the postseason for the first time.
“I talk a lot, but I’m keeping that answer short,” Alfredo said. “I’ve done this enough times of starting over with new teams that it used to be overwhelming. Now, I’ve learned what I need to do as a team player to make that transition more seamless for myself and everyone else. I have a lot more experience now, and I’ve proven to myself that I can run up front, lead laps, especially in superspeedway races. I have as good of a shot as anyone else.”
Alfredo’s rebuilding with a new team each season has been a daunting task. But he also knows that if he excels, it can lead to greater opportunities.
“More than anybody, I want to build a home somewhere; that’s what I talk to every team about,” Alfredo said. “Unfortunately, I think one of the challenges of running so well with a smaller team is a lot of people come knocking on the door with a little more than you’ve got in your pocket.
“I’ve raced against Austin Hill in the Xfinity Series, and he’s been in the [No.] 21 car for the last four years, and I’ve been in four different cars. You think about the challenge to keep up with someone like that who is with a top-tier organization. But to go run the way that I do in all of these different environments, I think I’ve proved that no matter whose car I’m in, I’m going to be a threat. That’s given me confidence.”
TALLADEGA ENTRY LISTS: Cup Series | Xfinity Series
Of the 60 laps Alfredo has led at the Xfinity level, 75% have come on superspeedways. His next chance comes this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. He will be pulling double duty, also driving the No. 62 car for Beard Motorsports in the Cup Series race. He had a splendid sixth-place finish in the spring Cup race last year at Talladega.
“I’ve also got these Cup races scheduled, and I feel like I’ve got as good of a shot as anybody in these because of the effort Beard Motorsports has put forward,” Alfredo said. “Winning a Cup race, let alone an Xfinity race, could both be career-defining for me.”